Fico: Joint Session of Cabinets Brings Stock-taking of Mutual Relations
Bratislava, September 26 (TASR) – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico considers a joint session of Czech and Slovak cabinets held in Bratislava on Monday as a stock-taking of mutual relations, TASR learnt on the same day.
The joint meeting resulted in a statement of both prime ministers that features cooperation in European issues, migration issues as well as in defence, energy, transport and agriculture areas.
Next joint session of the two cabinets is set for next year in the Czech Republic.
“This stock-taking was carried out not only at the level of prime ministers, but also at the level of individual ministries. It’s unusual and unprecedented for countries to supervise the fulfilment of each others commitments and relations as well as to exchange their experience,” said Fico after the meeting.
His Czech counterpart Bohuslav Sobotka sees joint sessions as a nice tradition. “I think that the excellent relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia are nowadays a good example for the entire EU. I think that our relations form the basis for stability in the Central Europe,” said Sobotka, adding that good cooperation between the two countries can contribute to stability across the Union.
In this regard, Fico noted that regarding European politics there are practically no topics that would divide the two countries. Both prime ministers confirmed once again their same approach to the migration crisis and rejection of the migrant quotas.
The Slovak and Czech cabinets in their joint statement agreed to continue coordinating the European issues together.
“Slovak and Czech prime ministers concurred that the EU internal reflection shouldn’t lead to major institutional changes or fast integration processes, but to make key elements of the current Union more efficient and to listen specific expectations of the people to a greater extend,” reads the statement.
Today’s meeting in Bratislava was the forth joint session of the Slovak and Czech cabinets. The first such session took place on October 29, 2012 in the Czech town of Uherske Hradiste and in the Slovak town of Trencin, while the second session was organised in the Slovak town of Skalica (Trnava region) on April 24, 2014. The third joint session took place in Valtice in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic on May 12, 2015.
